A Day in the Life of a Hacker

Hackers and those that prevent them have at least one thing in common. They are both at the cutting edge of cybersecurity.

Matias Brutti is senior manager of research and exploitation at Okta. The firm provides single sign-on for all your apps. His job is to find vulnerabilities and report them responsibly at conferences. He diverges from other hackers, of course, by reporting the issues rather than exploiting them for his own purposes.

Like other hackers, however, he stays informed of the latest in IT security. He’ll do this by reading blogs and curated news to see if there is anything new to add to his vast experience and knowledge. New techniques and considerations are not just noted, but implemented. He must then spend the day seeking vulnerabilities and deciding which to escalate.

Brutti is far from the only professional hacker who spends his time with way. Alexander Jones is an example of another specialist at getting into places he is not meant to be. Paid to test company security, he has seen it all, and says:

“In my experience, people are too trusting of emails they receive, people who call them and people they see in the office.”

Plenty of hackers – the majority – do not work for security firms. These hackers may be motivated by such things as thrill-seeking, boredom, the desire to steal, political agendas, or the wish to leak information and bring down a company. Even hobbyist hackers have experience, skill, and drive to find vulnerabilities and exploit them.

Every business that has a computer network is a potential target for such hackers. If you think that your business is unlikely to be a target for hackers because it is a small business, we advise you to think again.

Why Your Business May Be At RiskIn our experience, many hackers will target small businesses for access to their contacts, including larger business partners. It’s well-known that small business owners tend to think that they are off the radar when it comes to hacking. This trait makes small and medium-sized businesses big targets.

To prevent becoming part of the daily routine of a hacker, we recommend talking to IT security and data protection specialists today. If the worst does eventually happen, we can help you get your business back on its feet.